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Concern for Ukrainian Refugees Leads to Community Advocacy Effort

04/28/2022 11:59:23 AM

Apr28

by Erica Serlin

Motivated by the refugee crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, the Immigrant and Refugee Rights Action Team initiated a postcard advocacy project in support of Ukrainian refugees and other immigrants. The idea for this project began as a conversation between TBE member and artist Kathy Mazur and Rabbi Renee Bauer, the director of chaplaincy and outreach for the Refugee Resettlement Program at Jewish Social Services (JSS). Kathy explained how the idea began:

I, like all of you, have been painfully watching and listening to the news regarding the war in Ukraine. Feeling deep pain and despair for the Ukrainian people, I desperately wanted to do something, anything to bring awareness and hope for the Ukrainians. 
As a visual artist, all I know is to create. 
One particular photograph I saw on the news grabbed me. It was a mother and daughter fleeing their home, walking down a street, framed by tall grasses, one bare tree, all steeped in vast emptiness. The little girl carried two backpacks and a bag. The mother had several bags and a purse. I thought to myself, that could be any one of us! This image became my inspiration for the painting that I titled: WE ARE UKRAINE. My hope was to create an art piece that would move people to action. 

Kathy then created a beautiful and powerful artwork that we used on postcards to be sent to the responsible federal officials: President Biden, DHS Secretary Mayorkas, Senators Johnson and Baldwin, and Representative Pocan. The text, suggested by HIAS advocacy requests, urged support for the resettlement of Ukrainian refugees in the U.S., as well as a pathway to safety for Afghans and passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act. We also encouraged creating a pathway to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants and ending Title 42 and the “Remain in Mexico” policy. 

The postcard project took off beyond our wildest expectations! Postcard packets have been made available to Shaarei Shamayim, Beth Israel Center, JSS, Jewish Federation of Madison (JFM), and Christian member congregations of the Dane Sanctuary Coalition, including Christ Presbyterian, First Baptist, Midvale Lutheran, Plymouth UCC, and Madison Christian Community. TBE, JSS, and JFM also provided postage assistance for this project. Postcards were also distributed to countless individuals—some of whom even carried this project to other parts of the country. Over 1,150 postcards have already been distributed.

On March 31, we gathered at Temple Beth El and on Zoom to work on our postcards and hear about the refugee situation in Ukraine, with Kathy appearing by Zoom and Rabbi Renee Bauer and Becca Schwartz speaking in person. Rabbi Bauer noted that the crisis in Ukraine has had the effect of opening people’s hearts and minds to what’s happening in the lives of refugees and immigrants worldwide. She and Becca Schwartz elaborated on the more general immigration advocacy requests included in the postcard text and reminded us that immigrants of color and those coming from Africa, Latin America, and Muslim countries face especially difficult obstacles to entering the U.S. We shared a list of strongly endorsed relief organizations currently providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine and countries resettling Ukrainian refugees, including HIAS and our own Jewish Federation of Madison.

Since the postcards were created, we were gratified to learn that President Biden has pledged to welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees to the U.S. and has sought to end the use of Title 42, a public health policy that has been used unfairly since 2020 to prevent asylum seekers from entering the U.S.

To learn more about what life is like for immigrants to the United States, the Immigrant and Refugee Rights Action Team recommends the Netflix documentary Living Undocumented, a 2019 documentary series on Netflix that follows the lives of eight undocumented immigrant families living in the United States. They come from six different countries, including one family from Israel, and have a variety of problems with their immigration status. 

If you are interested in welcoming our new neighbors to Madison or have questions about what we are doing to support refugees and immigrants, please contact one of the co-chairs of our action team, Lynn Silverman or Erica Serlin. We will be happy to answer any questions. 

April 25, 2024 17 Nisan 5784